


i love everybody because i love you

by wuphf



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: Finally!!, Fluff, M/M, first happy thing i've ever written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:41:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23958613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wuphf/pseuds/wuphf
Summary: in which pining pays off.
Relationships: Jim Halpert/Ryan Howard
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	i love everybody because i love you

**Author's Note:**

> super short but!!! i was on a writing kick and wanted to write something happy for a change bcuz im in that sort of mood rn and also cuz nice!ryan is my everything :) (ps title is from strawberry blond by mitski)

it was tuesday. michael had dragged the whole office out to a picnic in a field in the middle of nowhere. most of his coworkers had been complaining on the way, but ryan couldn’t bring himself to. he wasn’t upset to have the day off. he wasn’t upset to get to spend the day off with jim. well, not really _with_ jim, considering he’d probably just be staring at him and pam, but that was okay. that was enough.

it was a nice day. the temperature was perfect- ryan would guess it was somewhere in the sixties, not too hot but not too cold. the sun was out, and there were a few clouds moving just fast enough to be eye catching. there was a slight breeze, making the grass tickle ryan’s hand as he leaned back and breathed in the spring air. usually, he would want to sit away from everyone else, but he felt different today. he wasn’t in the mood to let his loneliness suffocate him. he sat beside stanley, who was doing a crossword, as always. 

ryan glanced in jim’s direction, and sure enough, he was goofing off with pam. he couldn’t hear what the two were saying, but they were both laughing. it made him smile. usually, it would upset him to watch jim hanging out with the girl he was so obviously in love with, but today, it made him happy. he was happy because jim was happy. 

even when michael approached him, he didn’t feel the dread he usually would.

“ryan, my man.” michael sat beside ryan. “how are you enjoying my little picnic?”

“it’s really nice, michael.”

“do you really think so?”

ryan nodded.

“everyone else wants to go back to work. i’ve been trying to convince them that this beats work, but for some reason they aren’t buying it.” he complained.

“it definitely beats work.” ryan smiled.

michael brought a hand to his heart, “thank you, good sir,” he said in a butler-esque voice before jumping up and walking away.

the rest of the afternoon was uneventful at worst. ryan found himself continuing to enjoy what seemed to be boring the rest of his coworkers to death. watching jim smile was enough to keep him entertained for hours. when michael announced that it was time to leave, ryan got up slowly and walked behind his coworkers, taking in the scenery for the last time. the sun was setting, giving everything a warm glow. when ryan snapped out of his thoughts, he saw jim standing in front of him.

“hey ry,” he gave that classic grin ryan loved so much.

“hey.” ryan smiled back at him.

“nice view, huh?” jim said, and before ryan had the time to respond, he spoke again, “come here.”

ryan raised his eyebrows in question, but took a few steps towards jim nonetheless. jim lifted his hand up to ryan’s face, holding a bit of his hair up as he tucked a small flower behind his ear.

at this point, ryan’s brain had stopped thinking thoughts entirely. everything else had become irrelevant; it was just he and jim and the sunset. his entire face was on fire, because _oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, jim halpert just put a flower behind his ear._

“thanks,” ryan managed to get out, trying his best not to sound like a simpering idiot.

“you’re so cute, ry. you know that, right?” 

“i...” he breathed heavily. “really?” 

jim chuckled. “do you wanna have dinner with me on friday?”

“like a work date?”

“like a date date.”

“but… pam?”

“what about pam?” jim asked.

“don’t you like her?”

“she’s my best friend, that’s it.”

ryan was overcome with a warm, tingling sensation. he stared up to the sky for a solid minute before looking back to jim. “friday sounds good.”

“great.” jim grabbed ryan’s hand and pulled him after the rest of their coworkers, who were already back at the bus.

and ryan’s heart exploded.

**Author's Note:**

> hey what the fuck is butler-esque i was trying to say he did a british accent i just forgot words............. also this is set in season 1 when ryan had longer hair bc that was his best look thank u very much


End file.
